Married Priests in the Catholic Church

This is a very emotionally-charged, controversial topic. So I got up this morning at 5:30 and prayed so what I write here is specially approved by accounts given in the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and, above all, my conscience. I have briefly broached this topic in my writings and speeches elsewhere. But here I want to bring insights gleaned from scripture, theology, spirituality, psychology and my life experience in India and the USA as a married priest in an ashram to bear on this topic. Needless to say I had 25 years of religious life as a Jesuit before I left the Jesuits while I was a professor training priests in Papal Seminary and De Nobili College (Jesuits) and other religious institutions that comprise Jnana Deep Vidyapeeth (JDV), Pune, India. With profound gratitude to the Jesuits for the opportunities I received, I want to say I am who I am today due to the solid training I got from the loving and caring Jesuits.God created man and woman in his own image (Genesis, 1: 27). In the first and second chapter of Genesis the unique dynamics of the relationship between man and woman is described. God has put such yearning in man for the woman that he will leave even his father and mother, and will cleave to his woman (wife) to the point of both becoming one body (2: 24). The incomparable passion for each other from the beginning of creation is very clear. Now coming to the New Testament of the Bible, the first head of the Church, Peter, supposedly chosen by Christ, was a married man. The first Pope, Peter (Cephas) was a married Pope. Peter was such a timid weakling before Christ’s Resurrection that he even denied Christ thrice on the night of Christ’s passion. St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, (9: 1-7) wrote that all Christ’s disciples including Peter were accompanied by their wives. And they were provided food and drink. Paul in fact is complaining about being questioned, examined, and discriminated against precisely because he and Barnabas were not married. Christ said that from the beginning God made humans male and female, and a man shall leave his parents, and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh (Matthew 19: 4-6). Writing to the Ephesians Paul repeated the same message (5: 31). Paul wrote in his first letter to Timothy (3: 2) that a bishop must be above reproach and the husband of one wife. Historically there were 7 married Popes of whom four are saints. There were three Popes who were sons of Popes. There were Popes who had illegitimate children. There were Popes who were sexually active during their pontificate. There was a teenager Pope who was elected Pope at 18, and died less than 9 years later of a stroke while in bed reportedly with a married woman. There was such gross immorality that some accused him of converting his Lateran palace residence into a brothel. The second Lateran Council in 1139 abolished married priesthood and made celibacy mandatory for all priests. Yet many priests continued their priestly ministry even though they were married. Some Popes in the 15th and 16th centuries were notorious for their sexual immorality. Pope Innocent VIII and Alexander VI are worthy of special mention. It is also good to remember here that there were also three laypersons who were selected to become Popes.With the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, the horribly persecuted Church by the Roman Emperors became the Church triumphant. Slowly the Holy Spirit began to be replaced by the Worldly Spirit. Christ had cast out the ruler of this world (John, 12: 31); the ruler of this world had no power over him (John, 14: 30; 16: 11). With the worldly spirit coming in, the ruler of this world began to revive. And currently he has great influence over the priestly class and the hierarchy that exclusively rules the Church. He is organizing the ultra-conservative, status-quo bishops, and cardinals, making life very difficult even for a moderate and compassionate Pope Francis. Yet Christ was a layman whose death on the cross alone satisfied Caiphas (John, 18: 14), the Supreme High Priest or the Pope of that time, even though, Pilate, a pagan Roman Governor found no crime in Christ (John, 18: 38; 19: 6).Coming back to virginity or celibacy, the Council of Trent (1545-1563), largely a response to Protestant reformation, condemned anyone who held virginity or celibacy was not better than marriage (Canon 10). The belief that celibacy was considered to be superior to marriage continued till the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).The Second Vatican Council gave equal status to marriage and celibacy. After this Council there was a great exodus of priests to get married. Vocations to priesthood and religious life also continue to decline.Spiritually, sanctity depends totally on a life lived according to God’s will. A married or celibate person can become a saint. Surrendering to God’s will is the key to holiness. Psychologically living a life in freedom for all is essential. Marriage is a fundamental human right. A perpetual vow of celibacy is meaningless unless it becomes perpetual due to ongoing, continual discernment and choice. No vow is a fundamental human right. One can make a vow if it helps to do God’s will or live in a religious congregation. Only the freedom to make a vow is a fundamental right. A person can change in freedom a decision once made in freedom if there is a compelling reason for it. Any change of a serious decision should only be made after due discernment in prayerful reflection. A vow like the rule of keeping the Sabbath is for human and not human for the vow.It is interesting that a couple of days ago Pope Francis stated that a married person can become a priest. This is a welcome change in his thinking. This certainly can pave the way for married priests. This change, good as it is, is not good enough. But it is regrettable that he is not open to a priest currently in ministry getting married. He is gradual and cautious in his approach. So I will not be surprised about changing his mind on this. If he is not capable of making that decision, he needs to make way for someone who can. This decision is not at all easy. The entire Church needs to be gradually prepared for this decision. In the early Church elders presided at the Eucharist. And I do not have any difficulty in thinking that there were also some women elders who presided at the Eucharist. In any case there is no credible doctrinal objection to married priesthood or the priesthood of women. These changes are bound to happen in due time. No individual can stop them as long as the Holy Spirit is not against these changes. Due to rampant and widespread corrupt practices among the priests in the medieval times, powerful monastic orders arose as a corrective measure. Times have changed. Instead of keeping the Second Vatican Council in suspended animation, we need to revive it, and build on it with another Council long overdue. Imparting God-experience to all, this Council can usher the Church into the modern world, and can prepare the Church to deal with the materialistic spirit and challenges of this world.

About The Author

Dr. John K Thekkedam (Swami Snehananda Jyoti) spent most of his life as a clinical psychologist in USA. He began his public life as a Jesuit priest. Quite attracted in distinct philosophies, he left the society and founded 'East West Awakening'.

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On a cold winter night a wandering ascetic asked for shelter in a temple. The poor man stood shivering there in the falling snow so the temple priest, reluctant though he was to let the man in, said. “Very well, you can stay but only for the night. This is a temple, not a hospice. In the morning you will have to go.”At dead of night the priest heard a strange crackling sound. He rushed to thetemple and saw an incredible sight. There was the stranger warming himself at a fire he had lit in the temple. A wooden Buddha was missing. The priest asked,“Where is the Buddha?”The wanderer pointed to the fire, then said. “I thought this cold would kill me.”The priest shouted, “Are you out of your mind? Do you know what you have done?That was a Buddha statue. You have burnt the Buddha!”The fire was slowly dying out. The ascetic gazed into it and began to poke it with his stick. “What are you doing now?” the priest yelled.“I am searching for the bones of the Buddha whom you say I burnt.”The priest later reported the incident to a Zen Master who said, “You must be a bad priest because you valued a dead Buddha over a living man. “Measured with this yardstick many of us would be found to be ‘bad Christian,’ ‘bad Hindu,’ ‘bad Muslim,’ etc.

One day a father told his children the following parable: “The superintendent of an island was one day called by his lord, the king, to give an account of his administration.“The friends in whom he had placed his trust let him go alone and did not move from their homes; others whom he had also trusted accompanied him to the ship; but others still, whom he had trusted very little, accompanied him all the way to the king's throne and spoke in his favour winning for him the sympathy of the king.”The children did not understand who these friends were: “Man also has three kinds of friends on earth, but most times he comes to know them only when he is called from this world to give an account of his actions. The first of these friends, that is, money and earthly goods stay behind; others, that is, relatives, accompany him only as far as the tomb; the third, that is, the good works, follow him into eternity right to the throne of God where each one of us will be rewarded according to his actions, and even a drop of water handed to one who is thirsty will not remain unrewarded.

‘All three predominant ideologies existing in the present world; Capitalism, Communism and Socialism; have failed to establish a peaceful and sustainable democracy anywhere on earth in the true sense of the term ‘democracy’. They are found to be sectarian and divisive in their very content and nature. All of them have outlived their utility today. None of them seems to be capable of leading us to true and sustainable democracy……..‘Capitalism promotes cut-throat competition for profit and market control. It tends to promote the instincts of self-preservation and self-assertion inherent in the human nature. ‘Survival of the fittest’ which is the law of the jungle is also the basic law of Capitalism which had its use and need at an earlier stage in the evolutionary growth of human consciousness…. ‘Communism is an ideology of violent class-struggle. It was born as a reaction to the evils of Capitalism. It calls upon the ‘proletariat’, the working class, to eliminate the ‘bourgeois’, the owning class, and establish a Communist utopia wherein the ‘state shall wither away’ in course of time…. ‘As we had seen, more than ten crores of people were murdered just in two countries, China and the erstwhile USSR, to establish the Communist utopia. The USSR, the citadel of this failed Communist utopia, is no more in the world map…. Communist China has been gradually moving towards western Capitalism… This ‘Communist Capitalism’ will be more dangerous than either of them…..‘Socialism advocates Governmental ownership and control of wealth and means of production. This Governmental ownership and control over human affairs will kill all individual initiative and creativity. The old dictum, ‘a committee of mothers will never deliver a baby’ holds good in all human enterprises. Conception and delivery are fruits of individual initiative. Others can only help. The Government is meant to protect and facilitate all individual initiatives and creative efforts of the citizens. Such individual initiatives and creative efforts are the essential prerequisites for entrepreneurship development which is the basis of any great nation-building mission…..‘All these three ideologies promote centralization of power and resources, either in the hands of the rich and the powerful, or in the hands of the Government or the Party. Centralization breeds corruption, injustice and violence. Experiences of different societies and nations all over the world prove this fact beyond any doubt….‘Humanity today is searching desperately for a new alternative to these divisive and destructive ideologies. An integral, value-based and eco-friendly democracy which can ensure and promote citizen-friendly and effective governance, as well as just and equitable distribution of national and natural resources is the crying need of the hour….‘India, the largest functioning democracy and the oldest living civilization on earth, with her universal vision and ecological worldview, has a moral responsibility to strive towards developing and promoting such a higher form of democracy in the world…. ‘Enlightened national politics’, my son, is a creative step in this direction’, the Baba said.‘But guruji, how will it work? How are we going to make it work?’ asked Atma PrakashThe Baba replied: ‘The present political and economic crises facing India are created mostly by the kind of corrupt party and power politics practiced in India today. The solutions for these crises cannot be found at the same level of party and power politics. These problems also cannot be solved by creating another political party or with more political power in the hands of the Government….‘We need to expand our consciousness and enlarge our vision as pointed out by Dr. Albert Einstein who, in addition to his famous ‘Theory of Relativity’, had also made, as we had seen earlier, another profound discovery that said: ‘the solution for a problem cannot not be found at the same level of thinking that had created the problem in the first place’…..‘One has to raise the level of thinking. From the economic, political and religious levels, we need to raise the levels of thinking to ecology, science and spirituality…. because the real crises facing the nation and the world today, as we have already seen, are not economic and political alone but are also moral and spiritual….

The Guru meditating in his Himalayan cave opened his eyes to discover an unexpected visitor sitting there before him-the abbot of a well-known monastery. “What is it you seek?” asked the Guru.The abbot recounted a tale of woe. At one time his monastery had been famous throughout the western world. Its cells were filled with young aspirants and its church resounded to the chant of its monks. But hard times had come on the monastery. People no longer flocked there to nourish their spirit, the stream of young aspirants had dried up, the Church was silent. There were only a handful of monks left and these went about their duties with heavy hearts.Now this is what the abbot wanted to know: “Is it because of some sin of ours that the monastery has been reduced to this state?”“Yes,” said the Guru, “a sin of ignorance.” “And what sin might that be?”“One of your numbers is the Messiah in disguise and you are ignorant of this.” Having said that the Guru closed his eyes and returned to his meditation.Throughout the arduous journey back to his monastery the abbot’s heart beat fast at the thought that the Messiah-but the Messiah himself-had returned to earth and was right there in the monastery. How is it he had failed to recognize him? And who could it be? Brother Cook? Brother Sacristan? Brother Treasurer? Brother Prior? No, not he; he had too many defects alas. But then the Guru had said he was in disguise. Could those defects be one of his disguises? Come to think of it, everyone in the monastery had defects. And one of them had to be the Messiah!Back in the monastery he assembled the monks and told them what he had discovered. They looked at one another in disbelief. The Messiah? Here? Incredible! But he was supposed to be here in disguise. So, maybe. What if it were so-and-so? Or the other one over there? or….One thing was certain: If the Messiah was there in disguise it was not likely that they would recognize him. So they took to treating everyone with respect and consideration. “You never know,” they said to themselves when they dealt with one another, “May be this is the one.”The result of this was that the atmosphere in the monastery became vibrant with joy. Soon dozens of aspirants were seeking admission to the Order, and once again the Church re-echoed with the holy and joyful chant of monks who were aglow with the spirit of Love.

A lawyer opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the lawyer was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW. “Officer, look what they've done to my BMW!!!”, he whined. “You lawyers are so materialistic, you make me sick!!!” retorted the officer. “You're so worried about your stupid BMW, that you didn't even notice that your left arm was ripped off!””Oh my God…” replied the lawyer, finally noticing the bloody left shoulder where his arm once was.”Where's my Rolex Watch?”

‘The First Freedom Struggle of India was a political struggle in which lawyers, including Mahatma Gandhi, played the key role’, the Baba continued:‘The Second Freedom Struggle of India will have to be an Integral Revolution for spiritualization of economics and politics. This will be essentially an educational mission in which teachers in India, especially the spiritually-oriented and value-conscious teachers in India, will have to play the key role. They will have to serve as enlightened leaders of the Second Freedom Struggle, of the Integral Revolution’. …The Baba concluded….Atma Prakash was absorbed in the words of his guruji.There was a fire of a new kind of revolution burning in his heart……. The fire of an ‘Integral Revolution’. From being a violent naxalite revolutionary leader, he is now being transformed into an enlightened leader and a prophet of an Integral Revolution… Enlightened National Politics.‘What is this new concept? I have not heard about such a politics before. Can you explain it to me?’ Atma Prakash asked. The Baba looked at his disciple with great love, and said: ‘Let me begin with a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi. As you know, I love Gandhi a great deal.. He is a role model for me in many things… though I have my serious differences with him in a number of issues…. He had said, I quote: “Today the system of Government is so devised as to affect every department of our life. It threatens our very existence. If therefore we want to conserve the welfare of the nation, we must religiously interest ourselves in the doings of the governors and exert moral influence on them by insisting on their obeying the laws of morality.”….‘The Government is there to serve the citizens of India to govern themselves effectively based on the Constitutional values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. But if it starts controlling all aspects of our lives, as it tends to do today, it will threaten our very existence. Hence, in order to conserve the welfare of the nation, we must sincerely and seriously take interest in the decisions and activities of the Government and exert moral influence on the decision-makers, especially on our MPs and MLAs, and ensure that they obey the laws of morality. Enlightened national politics, my son, is an effort to fulfill this our national responsibility as responsible citizens’ the Baba said and looked at this disciple.Atma Prakash waited eagerly.The Baba continued: ‘Politics can be defined as the art and science of nation-building through participatory decision-making and effective governance. Seen from this perspective, ‘democracy’ is the most advanced form of politics developed by humankind so far. How will you define ‘democracy’, my son?’ the Baba asked.‘The concept of ‘democracy’ was defined by Abraham Lincoln as ‘the government of the people, by the people and for the people’. This is a definition well accepted all over the world today. ‘We the people of India’ have also accepted and adopted this definition of democracy, guruji’ answered Atma Prakash.‘Quite right, my son’, the Baba said, and he continued: Excerpts from Integral Revolution

The word mysticism has many meanings. For our purpose it is defined as
the union between the individual and the Absolute. This broad definition will
cover the understanding of mysticism in the East and the West. The Absolute may
be taken as God or the Cosmic Principle or the Universe. Mystical experiences are
extra-ordinary spiritual experiences. They are beyond the realm of ordinary
human and physical experiences that cannot be examined and established on the
basis of certain strict criteria. They are purely objects of faith. From the
life of mystics we can talk about certain characteristics. They are simple and
humble. They are immersed in God experience. Mysticism involves a deep yearning
of the individual for God. It pre-supposes morality and asceticism or sadhana
(spiritual exercises). The three major components essential to mysticism are
purification, enlightenment, and union in total and unconditional surrendering.

Purification: Purification follows
a careful examination of conscience. In this thorough examination of conscience,
attention needs to be paid to the following questions: Am I at peace with
myself and the world? There are all sorts of immoral, unethical, unjust, and
unfair things happening around me and in the world. Am I doing all that I can
to correct the situations? Do I have any ill feelings toward anyone even though
others may have hostile feelings toward me? Do I spend time and energy to
clarify misunderstandings when they arise? Do I take initiative in working
through conflicts? Am I sincere and rigorous in my approach to people? Am I
free of prejudices and discriminations of any kind? Am I sincere in my search for
truth? Do I spare any effort in finding out the truth? Am I free of my own
selfish interests? I have started this process of purification not because I am
better or more accomplished, or more self-righteous than others. I have
willfully accepted the invitation of God and the Universe to embark on this process.
I have surrendered to this eternal energy flowing in me. One needs to be
indifferent to pain and pleasure, good times and bad times. With a great love
for humanity, one devotes oneself to humans in selfless love. One needs to be free
from inordinate affections and attachments. One needs to have an
even-mindedness.

Enlightenment: One needs to
have available information needed for conscience formation and holistic living.
Enlightenment comes from examination of facts, arduous reflection, and meditation.
Awareness of oneself, others, and the surroundings leads to greater insight and
wisdom. Mysticism is the interface between one’s consciousness and God-(Cosmic)
consciousness. It is heavenly bliss on earth; it is a preview, so to speak, of
beatific vision, moksha or nirvana.

Union in Surrendering: Union is
to a Higher Power; surrendering is unconditional and total. The union is
grace-filled. There is no human calculation, no bargaining. One has done
everything one humanly could. It is a time of grace and deep Faith coming out
of Hope and Love.

Mysticism is for all; it is not a prerogative of a few chosen ones. It
happens when one chooses to do what can be done. It is adjusted to everyone’s
unique circumstances and potential.

There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church, and looked to be perfect Christians. Then their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers. A fund-raising campaign was started to build a new assembly. All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building. “I have only one condition,” he said. “At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint.” The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check. The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. “He was an evil man,” he said. “He cheated on his wife and abused his family.” After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded….. “But compared to his brother, he was a saint.”

Frederick II, the 18th century king of Prussia, fancied himself an enlightened monarch, and in some respects he was. On one occasion he is supposed to have interested himself in conditions in the Berlin prison and was escorted through it so that he might speak to the prisoners. One after another, the prisoners fell to their knees before him, bewailing their lot and, predictably, protesting their total innocence of all charges that had been brought against them.Only one prisoner remained silent, and finally Frederick's curiosity was aroused.”You,” he called. “You there.”The prisoner looked up. “Yes, Your Majesty?””Why are you here?””Armed robbery, Your Majesty.””And are you guilty?””Entirely guilty, Your Majesty. I richly deserve my punishment.”At this Frederick rapped his cane sharply on the ground and said, “Warden, release this guilty wretch at once. I will not have him here in jail where by example he will corrupt all the splendid innocent people who occupy it.”

The Baba recollected something very interesting, and said: ‘I remember having read an interesting statistics about the time wasted in India because of the filing system that existed, and still exist in our Government offices. Files were tied with a ribbon and kept in cupboards. Only the peon or clerk concerned could get you the required file. For getting the file, of course, they would need a bit of ‘speed money’…. ‘The concerned officer took 10 seconds to untie the file. After seeing the contents and writing his ‘note’ he tied the ribbon back. This tying back also took another 10 seconds. It means 20 seconds wasted on untying and tying the ribbon of a file. If the officer concerned deal with 10 files a day, he wasted 200 seconds, which was more than 3 minutes a day… ‘If there were 500,000 Central and State Governments officials in the country dealing with files, it would still mean more than 25,000 hours wasted every day in the country, just for untying and tying the ribbons of files! A very revealing statistics, indeed….‘As we have seen, time is the most precious gift of God, my son. We cannot regain even a minute of the time that is lost, whatever we do. Everything else can be regained, but not time….‘We in India have not understood the value of time. The Government departments have no value for time. The citizens often will have to wait for hours together, or come again and again, for getting any small thing done from a Government department, though the salaries of the Government servants are paid from the various taxes that the citizens of India pay to the Government.…….‘Even with computerization, the untying and tying of files go on in India. The Naxal movement also has something to do with the difficulties encountered by the poor citizens to get their files out of the cupboards and to get the government officials take action on them.…..‘Corruption in the Government is a crime against the nation. It is an offence against God and people. It needs to be dealt with severely. Making the citizens waste their time in Government offices is also a serious form of corruption in India….. ‘Hence, ‘hunger-free, caste-free and corruption-free India’ has to be the basic goal of the Second Freedom Struggle…..‘Hunger, caste and corruption in India are also external expressions of the inner evils of selfishness, pride and greed that are lurking in the hearts and minds of ‘We the People of India’. Hence, the solutions for the crises facing India today are to be found not only through economic and political reforms but also through a spiritual awakening and moral regeneration of the Indian people. This spiritual awakening and moral regeneration of the Indian people is a religious and spiritual mission. For this we need enlightened religious and spiritual leadership….‘An Integral Revolution in which politics and economics in the country are rebuilt on the strong foundation of the spiritual and moral values common to religions in India is the crying need of the era. That is the only way for realizing the vision of ‘Purna Swaraj’ for India as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters…… ‘That is also the reason why enlightened religious and spiritual leaders in India must join hands with enlightened political and economic forces in the country for the Second Freedom Struggle to build a hunger-free, caste-free and corruption-free India. This is also what I mean by ‘Integral Revolution’. It is a revolution in which enlightened religious, spiritual, economic and political forces in India will work together to build a hunger-free, caste-free and corruption-free India which in turn will lead us to the Purna Swaraj of our dream. Do you agree with me, my son?’ The Baba stopped with a question.‘Guruji I have gone through some books on our freedom struggle. I am fully in agreement with all that you have said so far.’ Atma Prakash replied.Excerpts from Integral Revolution